Understanding
by Taraum
Summary: A young Jedi dreams. OC. Please bear with me. It won't take that long to read, and it was hard, so please. See if you can guess what it is about. Set preTPM.


Narisha walked into the meditation chamber in the huge Jedi Temple and sat down. She curled her legs under her and put her hands in her lap. She felt the Force swirl around her as she closed her eyes and concentrated on the material that she had just read. The Chosen One. The one that was to bring balance to the Force. It had been prophesied about years ago, and she (as a new young Master) had finally the opportunity to study the information. She had read all that she could find. All that was written in the Jedi Temple Archives.

She felt the Force swirl and flow as she concentrated and meditated on all that she had learned. She released the feelings of fatigue at all the information and confusion at how it would come to pass and let them flow with the energy field that engulfed her and every other living thing in the Temple. She felt the calm of the older Jedi Masters and the young ambition of the Padawans that passed outside the chamber.

As she concentrated and cleared her mind (or tried to at least), she saw distant images come into view. Intrigued, she pushed away all surroundings and concentrated harder on the image. It came clearer into view. A young boy with a desire for freedom. An older man with long gray hair. A young Jedi apprentice. A queen in desperate need of help. A dark presence in the Force and a smaller, sinister one at his side. She watched in awe as the story unfolded. At the point of the battle for the queen's planet; however, the image was distorted and disappeared.

Concentrating harder, Narisha tried to regain the image, but it was gone. No, the Force had revealed all it intended to. For now. Narisha sighed, got up, and left the chamber. All through the sparring with the other Knights, dinner, and evening meditation, she still could not get the images out of her head. Sighing, she climbed into her bed and slept the peaceful sleep of a thousand generations. Or, at least, she thought.

The image came into sharper view than ever. The battle was won, and the queen's planet was safe. Peace had come to reign, if only for a short time. The young boy was now…a Jedi apprentice? The image lingered for a moment, then dissipated into another. The Jedi apprentice and the older man (his Master?) were staring at the fierce, dark young presence in the Force. They drew their weapons and the fight began. They were well matched, and fought with all their might for a long time. Finally, however, the moment came when Master and apprentice were separated. Only one force shield was between them. But the distance was enough.

The older Knight fought valiantly, but the dark presence was quick and angry. The battle wound down and the Knights blocks became more strained. The young man's breath caught and his heart slowed behind the shield. Narisha's own breathing slowed and anxiety showed on her face. The dark Force weilder slammed a blow to the older Knight's chin, and as he fell back spun and stabbed him through the chest. The young man screamed a cry of painful, agonized denial so strong that part of Narisha wanted to wake up and leave the horrifying dream. But it was too important.

The look on the young apprentice's face was one that Narisha had never seen before. Disbelief (in part), anger, and (she had seen, unfortunately)…the desire for revenge. The shield lowered, and the young Jedi and dark presence fought long and hard. Anger was a fuel, and it appeared as though the young Jedi would win, until he fell into the melting pit in the center of the room. Narisha watched in disdain as the dark presence tried to frighten the young Jedi into falling to his death. Then, the miracle. The young Jedi used the Force to spring up, catch his master's lightsaber, and cut the dark presence in half. Narisha barely noticed as he fell into the pit as she watched the young apprentice run to his Master's side and speak with him. An acknowledgment of the painful truth, a cry of denial, a plea to train the boy, understanding of the Prophecy, and a caring goodbye were what she witnessed. The young boy? He was the key? The Chosen One.

Narisha sat up in bed, gasping for air. Well, she had wanted understanding, and now she had it. The Prophecy had been revealed to her. Hugging herself, she stared out into the dark. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and went for water. As she drank, she suddenly felt a cry go out. Taking her sabers and robe, she raced down the halls and found herself at the nursery where all the infants were kept. Confused, she followed the source of the cry to one little child. He looked about a year old. She reached down to touch his face, but this woke him. He stared at her for a moment, then broke into a small crying fit. She hastily took him up in her arms and left the main nursery so he would not wake the others. Walking slowly and talking softly, she eventually calmed him.

"Why this child?" she asked the dark. "Why did you send me to him?"

The image of the older Jedi Knight appeared. She looked at the small child in her arms.

"This is him?" she said as she looked out at the dark. "Why did you let me know, if he is to die?" she sighed.

"Because you must know. Someone must," she felt the Force reply. The child was asleep, and she put him back in his bed. Seeing a name, she ducked to see it. Qui-Gon Jinn.

"May the Force be with you, young one." She sighed and smiled sadly. Then she walked off into the darkness. Balance would come, but not without a cost.


End file.
